Commentary

Warren Zev Harvey reflects on the pain and fear of Israel’s current moment, finding unexpected hope in R. Joseph Kaspi’s anti-deterministic theory of history. The essay was originally published in Hebrew and translated by the author.

Jerome Marcus explores understandings of freedom within halakhah and how they relate to Pesah and Shavuot

Jon Kelsen uncovers a deeper rabbinic meaning to the blood needed to "passover" the Israelites.

At what point in Jewish thought does artificial intelligence go too far? In this short story, Olga Lempert writes about a world where humanity itself might be replaced by the machines they create

Yaakov Bieler details several reasons why Torah u-Madda remains important to our role as Torah Jews and some practical ways we can implement this approach.

Lawrence Kaplan I read Chaim Saiman’s essay, “The Market for Gedolim: A Tale of Supply and Demand,” with growing excitement and admiration. Saiman’s shift of...

Rachel Sharansky-Danziger limns the deep collective pain of October 7th on Israelis and forges a way forward amidst its intensity.

Commentary by @Jerome Marcus: why biblical criticism directs our attention to the wrong way to read any good book, never mind The Good Book.

Aryeh Klapper with some new translation-stylings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik's Halakhic Man.

Judah Kerbel discusses why we say an abbreviated Hallel on the last six days of Pesah and contemplates what that says about the war in Israel; self-defense is a must, as is gratitude toward God, but we also hold space for the losses on the other side.